Ubaidullah Khan’s Financial Legacy: Assessing the Results of his Centralized Policies

Abstract

The consolidation of power within appanage-based states presents a persistent problem of historical assessment: distinguishing between ephemeral, personality-driven achievements and durable institutional change. The reign of the Shaybanid ruler Ubaidullah Khan (1533–1540), known for its centralizing ambitions, serves as an exemplary case for evaluating the long-term efficacy of such reforms. This study proposes an evaluation of the outcomes of his financial policies, focusing on their institutional, market, and administrative legacy. The research is designed to assess the durability of his monetary and fiscal centralization in the period following his death in 1540. It examines whether the convergence of monetary standards was sustained, if Bukhara’s primacy as the economic and political capital endured, and to what extent the centralized fiscal structures he implemented persisted under his successors. The paper adopts a legacy-assessment lens, moving beyond a description of the policies themselves to an evaluation of their tangible and lasting impact on the political economy of 16th-century Mawarannahr. This assessment is framed by the central question of whether his reforms constituted a fundamental and permanent restructuring of the Shaybanid state or a temporary remission of its inherent decentralizing tendencies, dependent on the force of his personal rule.